This card is roughly 15-20% slower than the RX 480. This makes it, on average, slightly slower than the R9 290. The card is easy on the power consumption and temperatures, but AMD is not releasing any reference cards, so noise is highly dependent on the manufacturer’s cooler. Reading the reviews, the better coolers are excellent, while the lesser coolers are loud.

Performance-wise, this card is excellent for those who want 1080p gaming on a budget. With 290-like performance, you can easily play games on 1440p as well, but with reduced settings. (I should know — I run a 1440p screen on a 290!)

Unfortunately, the RX 470’s story is not one about performance, but instead about price. The RX 480 (4GB version) was launched at $200. At 15-20% lower performance, the RX 470 should logically be priced at $180-$185 at a maximum. Unfortunately, at launch, the majority of cards are priced at $210-$230! That is simply absurd. We do not recommend buying a graphics card that is more expensive but has lower performance.

Here, we take the opportunity to point out that PowerColor was the sole company that put its RX 470 up for $180. In time, supply and demand will smooth things out for everyone else. The RX 480 will be in stock, and RX 470 will naturally go down to a more reasonable price.

So where does that leave us? We have a very nice mid-tier card with a silly launch price. For now, we have added the $180 PowerColor RX 470 to our Superb tier, where it joins the $200 4GB RX 480. The RX 470 only makes sense as a purchase if it is cheaper than the 4GB RX 480.

We’re expecting the RX 460 to launch next week. Let us hope for better prices there!